Seemingly brought to life by Donald Trump’s controversial proposal of a border wall with Mexico, the debate on immigration policy has turned into one of the most divisive and exhausted topics in all political discourse. But even if it seems that the majority of headlines come from Texas or California, the discussion is not reserved for North America.

I live a pretty ordinary life, living in Florida, a state known for its paradise beaches as well as destructive hurricanes. For the last thirty years, I have been a physician assistant and I currently work Monday through Friday in a large healthcare system. At this point in my career, I have a pretty tame position, or at least I did until COVID came along. Be even still, after long days dressed in personal protective equipment, I come home, exercise, eat dinner and then read a book or watch TV; then it's off to bed. It really is a pretty boring life except for the one thing I live for; my dance life.

It seems like a lifetime ago that we were allowed to hop onto aeroplanes and fly to cities that would show us a little additional piece of the world puzzle. It was a regular occurrence for me to travel all over the United Kingdom and various other locations in Europe because of the work that I do. I work in the sport television industry and the last destination that I got to enjoy visiting was the magnificent Rome. Thus my flashback encompasses the sad truth that we cannot gather together at sporting events anymore, something I most certainly will never take for granted again.

Sunderland fans and communist Albania shouldn’t have much in common. Even allowing for the north-east’s left-leaning political reputation, the unreconstructed Stalinism of Enver Hoxha was seldom debated on the terraces. Yet, for a generation of fans clutching crackly radio sets, midway matches meant the Red-and-Whites of Roker were accompanied by the Reds of the Marxist-Leninist vanguard.